Work by Lena Klett featured in "Subliminal" at Halt Gallery in the Roosevelt Row A.R.T.S. Market.

We've finally hit the art-meets-weather sweet spot, when temperatures are just right for making the art walk rounds during First and Third Fridays. A whole new crop of shows opens this week, and some cool shows are about to close. So start early, and enjoy this mix of art and nice weather while it lasts.

They can sing, they can dance, after all this is -- well, okay, it's not France, but Phoenix will get its fair share of talented actors taking to the stage for the spring season. Between Broadway musicals, Shakespearian adaptations, and centerstage comedies, we've found 15 good reasons to start buying your theater tickets now.

"Chamber Music: A Mostly Silent Installation" by Diane Gilbert (detail) is now on view at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum.

An artist who created a fictional queer family history. An artist best known for rendering soup cans. An artist who works with bits of screen and guitar strings. They're all part of spring exhibitions in metro Phoenix, which invite reflection on everything from the commodification of nature to the cult of celebrity. Here are eight art shows not to miss.

As flowers start to bloom, the schedules start to get booked. Spring is easily a season to see and be seen in metro Phoenix -- what with an influx of conventions, art exhibitions, and festivals. Whether your interests lie in comedy, comic books, or something in between, we're certain you'll find at least a few things worth penciling down in our list of the 30 must-attend spring events.

Truth be told, the coolest part about Canal Convergence 2015 was seeing people of all walks of life converge along the canal and surrounding parts to explore works of art and other cultural gems. For four days, from February 26 to March 1, the streets of downtown Scottsdale came alive with a steady stream of locals, tourists and part-timers who split the year between Arizona and colder parts of the country.

Art galleries with open doors and the new Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, all located within walking distance of the event held along the Scottsdale Waterfront, added to the pulse of Scottsdale Public Art's four-day celebration. We hit the canal early and often, and found many cool offerings. These were our favorites.

When in doubt, start your First and Third Friday art adventures with the trio of shipping containers turned gallery spaces at the Roosevelt Row A.R.T.S. Market, where interesting work and opportunities to talk with a diverse assortment of artists abound. That's our take home from this month's Third Friday, where Halt and Hot Box galleries continued to serve up fun and interesting fare.

Modest but energetic crowds infused spaces that were harder to navigate during First Friday, when crowds sometimes streamed through spaces like parades of ants rather than pausing to engage with the arts and culture that has made these events, and the Roosevelt Row arts district, such a draw.

Work by Nora Hartlaub featured in the new "Kid Stuff" exhibition at Halt Gallery.

There's lots of good stuff to see this month, especially as galleries and studios ramp up for next month's Art Detour event. See as much as you can during Third Friday, so you'll have more time for other viewings once Art Detour, taking place March 7 and 8, is upon us. Third Friday options include art inspired by childhood themes and materials, art exploring our relationship to birds, and art celebrating the ways we move from place to place.

Local cosplayers at Amazing Arizona Comic Con 2015. See more photos here.

If there's one thing that's become abundantly clear to us while covering geek culture in the Valley, it's that everyone nerds out for something, no matter who they are. That's especially true with members of the cosplay crowd, who put their particular passion on display for the world to see at local geek extravaganzas like the annual Amazing Arizona Comic Con 2015 this past weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Cosplayers were everywhere during all three days of the convention, whether they were roaming the aisles, checking out comics, dropping some coin for cool shwag, gathering for the event's costume contest on Saturday night, or just geeking out.

Love is in the air, and weddings are right around the corner. While we can't tell you what dress to wear, who should be on the guest list, or whether you should write your own vows, we can point you in the right direction of where to put it all together. Between museums, resorts, and art galleries, there are plenty of prime places to put a ring on it in metro Phoenix. Here are our top 25.

Soul Matrix installation by Tara Logsdon at Frontal Lobe Gallery and Community Space.

Artwork, street performers, food trucks, and super-size boom boxes made this month's First Friday an especially lively affair. Folks visiting Roosevelt Row had fun with way-finding, thanks to towers of arrows pointing the way to local art venues and local businesses, and signs signaling nearby sources of artwork, coffee, beer, and little black dresses. We found our February favorites in a fun assortment of places from a pop-up gallery to a photography studio.

Soul Matrix by Tara Logsdon

We were drawn by a rainbow of cascading colors to Tara Logsdon's Soul Matrix, an installation featured in her solo exhibition "Bearial Ground" at Frontal Lobe Gallery and Community Space -- where 10 repurposed teddy bears mounted on gallery walls are dressed according to social justice themes such as race, torture, money, and poison. While making our way from a teddy bear sporting a white hooded KKK robe to a teddy bear attached to a mock torture device, we spotted various gallery-goers interacting with Soul Matrix, going inside the circular space for a bit of conversation or meditative time. The installation really drew people in and kept them engaged with the exhibition.